1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety devices and fire fighting equipment in general, and particularly to a smoke detector with audible alarm and fire extinguishing capabilities in a single, easily mounted housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Smoke detectors with audible alarms have been required in most residences in the U.S. for quite a few years. Typical smoke detectors with alarms are complete assemblies or units in a single small housing. The housing normally includes the smoke detecting and audible alarm electronics, a power supply for conditioning and directing the proper electrical power from 120 volts AC or 9 volts DC to the electronics, and also an alarm horn or buzzer, and all contained within the small housing structure attachable to an electrical box or directly to the ceiling. Typical smoke detectors function to sense smoke either by sensing atomic particles using an ionization process, or by seeing smoke particles using a photoelectric process. With either sensing process, when smoke is detected, the smoke detector triggers an audible alarm intended to awaken or alert the occupants of the danger. If the residence is empty, such as when the owners are at work, the audible alarm is normally not sufficiently loud to alert the neighbors, and this being in-part due to the audible alarm normally stemming directly from the smoke detector unit within the interior of the residence, and consequently, a fire can become quite large before being noticed.
There is a trend in the U.S. to render residences more safe against all hazards, including fire and smoke hazards. This trend in some areas is leading to the increased mandating of automatic fire-extinguishing water sprinkle systems, even in single story buildings. Such sprinkle systems in the past were normally only required in multi-story apartments and condominiums, and in commercial/industrial buildings. Although water sprinkle systems are effective at slowing or extinguishing fires in the immediate area of the sprinkler head(s), they are costly to install, and particularly costly to install after the building has been completed, such as during a remodel when the finished ceiling is already in place. Additionally, if the sprinkler system is triggered, water from the system will mix with smoke causing a mixture which is very damaging to the building and furniture, and therefore water or liquids are not the ideal fire retardant from that view point.
Several combination smoke detector with fire extinguisher units have been developed in the past which use dry powered or gaseous fire retardants which are less damaging to the building and furniture than water because they are dry and can simply be vacuumed up. However, none of the prior art combination smoke detector with fire extinguisher units of which I am aware are structured the same as the present invention, and none are believed to be capable of providing equal benefits in similar applications as the invention of this disclosure.